The Social Equity Audit is an open, voluntary and learning process to enable organisations to progress systematically towards inclusion and equity in their programming and institutional development. The Social Equity Audit (SEA) is, at once, both professional and political. These two basic objectives of SEA are crucial and non-negotiable. SEA would always be professional in that it would maintain globally accepted standards of professional identification of processes, patterns and structures of social exclusion. It would be political, to enable organisations and communities to effectively move from exclusivist to more inclusive approaches and processes. SEA is a value-based approach, looking at development through the lens of the most vulnerable, the most powerless and the most helpless and to enquire if the development effort is really reaching them. The inclusion of these excluded people in development and eradication of discrimination against them is central to equity concerns.

This would mean empowering the vulnerable and changing power relations. It is a process that is organisation-friendly and transparent rather than a fault finding or a policing exercise. SEA will not condone any gaps found, nor does it condemn any lapse. It is a rigorous process that is professional and supportive at the same time, is based on mutual respect, is open to learning, and is open towards understanding difficult field circumstances. The SEA process would be participatory. It would be facilitative and not extractive. All those who have a significant stake in service delivery will be actively involved throughout the audit, from the initial stages of design to implementing community-led solutions. It is a proactive tool to understand and address structural, organisational and strategic constraints and bottlenecks that prevent or limit the marginalised and vulnerable communities from equitable participation and benefit sharing in development programmes.